Leaders Keep Asking Questions

 

In the spirit of analyzing your year and doing your own year-end audit, here are a few more questions to play with as you wrap up 2022. In our last article, I provided 30 questions to sit with and answer. 

Leaders who reflect and then make key decisions from the reflection have more influence over those they lead. 

Here are 33 more questions for your own personal leadership reflection: 

1. Does your job correspond with your passion?

2. Where do you see yourself next year? Will you be doing the same thing or not?

3. What do you wish you had done this year?

4. How much have you earned and saved this year? Are you meeting your yearly goals?

5. How much debt do you have at the moment? How much has it changed throughout this year?

6. What is the most worthy investment of your time/money this year?

7. What are some poor financial decisions you’ve made this year? 

8. From a score of 1 to 10, how will you rate your personal finance this year?

9. What do you plan to spend less next year?

10. What are your money goals next year? How do you plan to achieve them?

11. Who is your closest friend? Anything memorable happened between you this year? 

12. How is your love life this year?

13. What new lessons have you learned about your relationships this year?

14. Who provides you with the strongest support this year?

15. What new understandings do you have towards a friend, a family member, or someone you know?

16. Have you spotted anyone toxic in your circle? How do you handle it?

17. Have you reconnected with anyone this year? 

18. How much quality time have you spent with your family? 

19. If you can only contact three people for the next entire year, who will they be, and why?

20. What is your biggest loss this year? How have you been healing?

21. Describe the best day of the year. 

22. How will you rate your mental health at the moment? 

23. What have you done this year to improve your mental health? (therapy, journaling, support group)

24. What is one thing you regret not doing this year? Why haven’t you?

25. What keeps you awake at night?

26. What is a tough period for you this year? How did you cope?

27. Who has inspired you the most this year? Why?

28. What are you most grateful for this year?

29. What is the most heartwarming thing you have been told this year?

30. Pick your color of the year, and why do you choose it?

31. What is one difficult decision you’ve made this year?

32. Describe a “moment of awakening” this year.

33. What are you most excited about for the year to come?

Wishing you an amazing review and a grand 2023!

The world needs your leadership.

Best,

Manal

Reflection: A Year In Review for Leaders

 

As you look at 2022, let’s all take some time to review this year. 

Set aside a few hours and grab a pen and piece of paper(s) or a journal and ask yourself some questions. 

The year-end review we talk about in this post is no different than what a company does in a year-end review except that we are doing it ourselves. It’s a self-reflection process that allows us to learn from our achievements and mistakes.

Throughout the entire review, make sure that you are not judging your answers. The purpose of this self-interview is to evaluate how well you’ve done this year. The more transparent and specific your answers are, the more you will benefit from the process.

Here are some of the benefits of a personal year-end review:

• Know more about your strength and weakness

• Find ways to improve your performance and life

• Maintain the balance among different aspects of life

• Set better goals for the year to come

• Track and celebrate your accomplishments 

Ask yourself these questions: 

1. How would you describe this year with a single word?

2. Take a look back at the goals you set for this year. How well have you accomplished them?

3. What is your biggest challenge this year? How do you handle it?

4. What is a good habit that you built this year? How has it influenced your life?

5. What is one bad habit you quit this year? How did you quit it, and does it change your life?

6. Name one thing you are most proud of this year.

7. What didn’t go as planned this year? Why?

8. What surprises you the most this year? 

9. Name a book you read that inspires you the most.

10. What is the most courageous thing you’ve done this year? 

11. Name one change you have made that improves your life.

12. Have you taken on any new roles? How does it go so far?

13. If this year is a game, what are your difficulty settings now?

14. If you could travel back to a year ago, what would you tell yourself?

15. Describe the best thing that happened to you this year?

16. In what aspect are you doing better than last year?

17. What did you excel in this year?

18. What did you struggle with this year?

19. How well do you take care of yourself this year?

20. What is one thing you regret doing this year?

21. What is one thing you don’t have time to do this year?

22. What is the biggest challenge you face at work this year?

23. Does your job reflect your core values?

24. Are you happy with what you have achieved professionally?

25. Are you using your time wisely? Any room for improvement?

26. What do you love the most about your job?

27. What new challenges do you take on this year? How does it go?

28. Which part of your job bores you?

29. Which part of your job stresses you the most?

30. What mistakes have you made this year? What are the lessons learned?

We’ll give you 30 more questions in our next article. 

Wishing you an amazing review and a grand 2023!

The world needs your leadership.

Best,

Manal

Co-Elevation In the Workplace

 

What can combat the Quiet Quitting that is happening in the workplace? 

COVID-19 has shifted the way the world does business and it might be changing the way the world sees and follows leadership. There is a new trend out there in the workplace called lateral leadership. 

As you think of your dream culture does it include a hierarchy of leadership or is it more organic? 

Lateral Leadership is a new kind of leadership for these times. Lateral leadership means leadership without disciplinary leadership, without authority. The guide direction is not limited from top to bottom. Lateral or peer leadership has an explicit effect on the horizontal level. Everyone has leadership responsibilities towards their colleagues. It does not matter where they are located in the artificial hierarchy. This explicitly includes the direction of the employee to the boss. The great challenge for employees is to recognize the importance of their own leadership and to take responsibility for it and to find ways and ways to do it.

Lateral leadership is a step in the right direction when it comes to not allowing Quiet Quitters to run the workplace.

Job titles do not equate to leadership skills. Many people have experienced this first hand. 

So why does lateral leadership work so well? Imagine a team that all works well together. They are in sync with each other and they all help each other be their best. 

Lateral Leadership is about crafting a vision, understanding the drivers and motivations of your peers, strengthening relationships, and building coalitions. It's about knowing the best next step for the organization and assembling the team to get there -- all without line authority or mandates.

This concept of lateral leadership is also being referred to as co-elevation. This is a new concept to many of us but inherently we all want each other to win. When a company does this, all the players win.  

Best, 

Manal

Quiet Firing is a New Trend!

Many of us have heard of quiet quitting, but quiet firing is trending too.  The newest trend in corporate leadership circles is the discussion around Quiet Firing. 

In the last six months we have started to hear the term Quiet Quitting and how employees don't have an ownership mentality but an "I'll do the minimum" mentality. 

If your leader’s attitude toward you has shifted and/or you feel your work is criticized more than usual, you might be experiencing it.

There has been a long-standing gap between the idea of having a great boss in the workplace and yet it is very possible. Just over half of workers leave their employment because of their boss. 

Quiet Firing is the act of intentionally treating workers badly so they leave their jobs.

Some things leaders can do to ensure their management team isn't intentionally or unintentionally doing Quiet Firing are: 

• Communicate the company mission, vision, and values.

• Ensure employees know they can talk to Human Resources or Senior Management

• Bring this up in Management meetings so peers can help keep other Managers accountable. 

• Have employees self-manage. Where they are evaluating themselves on every aspect of their job and bring it to the leadership team for feedback.

What can staff members do? 

• Speak to your manager directly 

• Look for others to help advocate for you

• Do your homework on the company policies (Employee handbook, etc)

• Start or join an employee resource group

• Create a self-managed culture where peers help each other be their best. 

Remember the world has changed and with it comes new behaviors, mindsets, and attitudes. Leaders are human too and perhaps they need someone to help them too.  Don’t be a victim of Quiet Firing and certainly don’t be the person doing it. Awareness is key when it comes to leadership and creating a culture that works for everyone in it.

Best, 

Manal

What Can Leadership Do about Quiet Quitting?

What can combat the Quiet Quitting that is happening in the workplace? 

COVID-19 has shifted the way the world does business and it might be changing the way the world sees and follows leadership. There is a new trend out there in the workplace called lateral leadership. 

As you think of your dream culture does it include a hierarchy of leadership or is it more organic? 

Lateral Leadership is a new kind of leadership for these times. Lateral leadership means leadership without disciplinary leadership, without authority. The guide direction is not limited from top to bottom. Lateral or peer leadership has an explicit effect on the horizontal level. Everyone has leadership responsibilities towards their colleagues. It does not matter where they are located in the artificial hierarchy. This explicitly includes the direction of the employee to the boss. The great challenge for employees is to recognize the importance of their own leadership and take responsibility for it and find ways and ways to do it.

Lateral leadership is a step in the right direction when it comes to not allowing Quiet Quitters to run the workplace.

Job titles do not equate to leadership skills. Many people have experienced this firsthand. 

So why does lateral leadership work so well? Imagine a team that all works well together. They are in sync with each other and they all help each other be their best. 

Lateral Leadership is about crafting a vision, understanding the drivers and motivations of your peers, strengthening relationships, and building coalitions. It's about knowing the best next step for the organization and assembling the team to get there -- all without line authority or mandates.

This concept of lateral leadership is also referred to as co-elevation. This is a new concept to many of us but inherently we all want each other to win. When a company does this, all the players win.  

Best, 

Manal

COVID-19 has shifted the way the world does business and it might be changing the way the world sees and follows leadership. There is a new trend out there in the workplace called lateral leadership. 

As you think of your dream culture does it include a hierarchy of leadership or is it more organic? 

Lateral Leadership is a new kind of leadership for these times. Lateral leadership means leadership without disciplinary leadership, without authority. The guide direction is not limited from top to bottom. Lateral or peer leadership has an explicit effect on the horizontal level. Everyone has leadership responsibilities towards their colleagues. It does not matter where they are located in the artificial hierarchy. This explicitly includes the direction of the employee to the boss. The great challenge for employees is to recognize the importance of their own leadership and take responsibility for it and find ways and ways to do it.

Lateral leadership is a step in the right direction when it comes to not allowing Quiet Quitters to run the workplace.

Job titles do not equate to leadership skills. Many people have experienced this firsthand. 

So why does lateral leadership work so well? Imagine a team that all works well together. They are in sync with each other and they all help each other be their best. 

Lateral Leadership is about crafting a vision, understanding the drivers and motivations of your peers, strengthening relationships, and building coalitions. It's about knowing the best next step for the organization and assembling the team to get there -- all without line authority or mandates.

This concept of lateral leadership is also referred to as co-elevation. This is a new concept to many of us but inherently we all want each other to win. When a company does this, all the players win.  

Best, 

Manal

How Many Leadership Styles Are There?

When you go to Google and you ask “How many types of leadership styles are there?”, Google will respond with things like: 

• 4 Leadership Styles in Business: Leadership Style Quiz 
• How to Lead: 6 Leadership Styles and Frameworks
• 7 Leadership Styles and How to Find Your Own
• 8 Common Leadership Styles (and How to Find Yours)
• 10 Common Leadership Styles (Plus How To Find Yours)
• 11 Leadership Styles (plus how to find your own) 

So how many leadership styles are there? In my opinion, there are two. One that works and one that doesn’t.

So where do the varying 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 11 leadership styles come from? 

They come from people moving into leadership roles carrying with them their background of experiences and their values and personality styles.

These are the characteristics every leader should strive to create in their culture. They should be able to build relationships both internally and externally. They will have a heart for continual and never-ending people development. We are either growing or staying put. If we stay put too long, skills/mindsets, and outlooks become stagnant. 

Leaders lead change. Nothing stays the same. In an ever-changing world, change is inevitable and necessary.  In leading change, leaders will naturally inspire others. Getting buy-in to ideas, concepts, goals, and actions is what great leaders do. They are able to move the masses in the same direction. 

Leaders think critically. They take the data and make the wisest decision they can at the moment and shift to new decisions as needed. They look at all angles, and factors and take into consideration the global implications of their decisions. Most great leaders have coaches and advisors they seek counsel from. Great leaders are not an island doing life alone. They involve others in their processes and when needed, they make critical decisions. 

Great leaders communicate clearly and create accountability for each and every person in the organization.  In order to move the masses, written and verbal communication must take place and people need to know what is required of them for the whole organization to reach their goals.

So whether you think there are two styles of leadership or more. You’ll know how effective you really are when you measure the environment and culture you have built.

Best, 

Manal

Leading with Perseverance

When things become tough, either at work or in life, it requires grit and perseverance. The road to success is rarely a bed of roses, and it takes hard work and patience to see things through. The only way out is through it.

Perseverance simply means “continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition: the action or condition or an instance of persevering”: steadfastness (Merriam-Webster). 

We know perseverance is essential in work because it allows people to continue working towards their goals even when things get tough.  It allows individuals to develop the necessary skills that will elevate them to the next level. There is a tendency to want to help others eliminate or reduce their struggle, and in doing so, we may unintentionally deprive them of necessary growth.

Instead of rescuing others, we can support them in ways that give them the fortitude to carry on and move through the challenge, resulting in a renewed sense of self-confidence and belief.

Perseverance helps you build character and reap rewards that are everlasting. Here are the top three qualities Perseverant Leaders possess:

1. They Keep Asking Why
   People who persevere are the ones who continue to ask ‘why’. It serves as a constant motivator and keeps you on track. It can be as simple as: why am I doing this? The more you remind yourself, the clearer your purpose gets. This is the fuel that moves you forward.

 

2. They Have Self-Belief
   You may have heard people say: if you don’t believe in yourself, how will they? If you want to achieve anything, you need to believe in your skills and abilities. Successful leaders understand the connection between self-belief and the change they want to make in the world. Fostering your self-belief is developed through perseverance.

3. They Make Room For Vulnerability
   It isn’t easy to face your failures, and it especially isn’t easy to ask for help. Successful people persevere because they know how to learn from their mistakes and overcome setbacks. Instead of giving up, they know how to pick themselves up and ask for help. They aren’t afraid of being vulnerable and reaching out to others in times of need.  

In today’s world, leaders have to consistently challenge their mindset, remain flexible and creative in how they solve issues and persevere with vulnerability. Brene Brown says, “Vulnerability is the best measure of courage”.  

Best, 

Manal